Join us for an hour of nature play before the zoo opens: designed for families who have a child with sensory sensitivities, come and play in Hasbro’s Our Big Backyard from 9 to 10 a.m. Build mud pies, watch boats float downstream and climb high in a tree-house. Limited to 70 participants, this hour will allow you and your family to spend time playing in nature, in a smaller group of guests.

Try something new:Imagination playground, a large-scale building toy, will be available for guests to use during this time. This amazing play material allows you to create tall towers, build ramps and create cities, all at your own pace.

The Nature Swap room will be available with books and carpet squares for families who need a quiet space during the event.

Please Note: Rise & Play is free for Roger Williams Park Zoo members, but you must log into your account and pre-register!

Family Overnights (Ages 6+)

Snooze at the Zoo for the wildest family overnight adventure in town! The night begins with pizza and ice cream before educators engage you and children in hands-on activities, animal encounters, and a Zoo tour by flashlight. End the evening by crawling into your sleeping bag in the Meller-Danforth Education Center with popcorn and a movie. You’ll need your zzzzs before waking up with the animals! A light breakfast will be provided before a morning Zoo tour.

Please note: There must be at least a 1:3 parent/child ratio. This program is not designed for adults without children
Important registration note: There are no refunds unless program is cancelled by the Zoo.All requests to change the date of your program must be made at least 48 hours prior to the start of your scheduled program. Requests are not guaranteed and are dependent upon availability. A fee of $20 per program participant will be assessed when any change to your program date is made.

Amphibian species are disappearing at an alarming rate across the globe due to habitat loss, pollution, and disease. FrogWatch trainings cover the importance of amphibians in the environment, how monitoring our local population helps to protect them, factors to consider in choosing a site to monitor, how to tell frog species apart by their calls and how to report findings to FrogWatch USA. Become a citizen scientist with FrogWatch USA, and help save our frogs!

Dates:

Saturday, May 5: 1:00 - 3:00 pm

Price: $10/household (includes up to 2 adults and 2 children age 8+)

REGISTRATION CLOSED

FrogWatch trainings cover the importance of amphibians in the environment. The instruction focuses on how to:

monitor our local frog population to protect the species;

determine factors when choosing a site to monitor;

tell frog species apart by their calls; and,

report findings to FrogWatch USA.

After passing a test on identifying frog calls at the end of the training, certified volunteers then commit to monitoring a local amphibian habitat (such as a pond or lake) approximately once a week for about 15 minutes, and collecting/submitting data on what they hear. Data collected will be added to a national FrogWatch USA database. In 2014, Rhode Island FrogWatch citizen scientists followed 80 sites almost 900 times! In those 900 observations, FrogWatchers heard more than 1,220 frog choruses.

Please note: FrogWatch trainings will cover a large amount of information and protocols. While FrogWatching is a great after-dark family activity for all ages, the trainings are designed for interested older children and adults.

Bronx Zoo Daytrip (Ages 5+)

Have you ever wanted to visit the Bronx Zoo? Take the headache out of traveling and journey with us. Sit back, relax and enjoy a day with family and friends at an award-winning zoo with more than 4,000 animals.

These programs get you up close and personal with the animals and staff of the Zoo before it opens to the public! All programs include breakfast, interaction with zookeepers, and a sneak peek into the premiere level of care Roger Williams Park Zoo animals receive.

Cost: $55 RWP Zoo members, $65 Non-members

Dates & Themes:

Saturday, September 29 (rain or shine) | 8:30 - 10:30 AM *SOLD OUT

Breakfast with the Elephants (Ages 7+) - Rise and shine with the Zoo's herd of African elephants in an exclusive experience before the Zoo opens. Start by dining on a hot breakfast buffet at the Serengeti Market Cafe, enjoying fresh fruit, softly scrambled eggs, smoked bacon and country sausage, breakfast potatoes tossed with peppers and onions, freshly brewed coffee (regular and decaf), tea and a variety of chilled juices, and spring water. After breakfast, you’ll join zookeepers that care for the elephants to learn about elephant diets, care, training and more. You will even walk the footsteps of giants when the program takes you into the outdoor elephant yard to see the elephant pool, enrichment, and hanging hay nets. Capacity is limited to 30 participants, so register today!

Sunday, November 4 (rain or shine) | 8:30 - 10:30 AM *SOLD OUT

Breakfast with the Moon Bears (Ages 7+) - Marco Polo’s adventure brought him face to face with the exotic animals of the Silk Road, and so will yours! Start by dining on a hot breakfast buffet of fresh fruit, softly scrambled eggs, smoked bacon and country sausage, breakfast potatoes tossed with peppers and onions, freshly brewed coffee (regular and decaf), tea and a variety of chilled juices, and spring water. After breakfast, you’ll join zookeepers that care for the animals of Marco Polo’s Adventure Trek in opening for the day; climb into the bear exhibit to prep it for their arrival, get up close with a camel, and see the snow leopards, red pandas, cranes & takin get their first enrichment of the day. Capacity is limited to 25 participants, so register early!

Please note: The behind-the-scenes components of this program are not wheelchair accessible. Some climbing over rocks required.

Please note: Breakfast with the Animals is rain or shine. Tickets are non-refundable. Ticket price includes a hot breakfast buffet, program, and admission to the Zoo post program. Participants age 15 and younger must be accompanied by a registered adult. Pre-registraion is required.

Come Out and Play! Concert

Celebrate summer while you dance to tunes from the popular Rock-a-Baby band, and play the early evening away in Hasbro's Our Big Backyard. This event is specifically geared towards our youngest Zoo guests and promises to be fun for the whole family.